Dalmatia - Review, recipe and giveaway

Dalmatia: Recipes from Croatia's
Mediterranean Coast by Ino Kuvačić celebrates traditional
recipes that capture the fresh, simple cuisine of the Dalmatian
region. The title page has a stunning aerial view of the coast line
that captured my heart immediately - any place this mesmerizing
surely must be home to beautiful cuisine as well.

Ino Kuvačić is a Melbourne-based restaurateur who was born in
Split, Croatia where he studied to be a chef. When he relocated to
Australia in the late nineties, he worked in a few of the country's
most iconic restaurants. This debut cookbook stemmed from his
desire to share the food of his native coastal homeland with the
world.

Scampi in Garlic, White Wine and Tomato, Cabbage Sausages, and
Croatian Apple Cake along with other sweets unlike any I have come
across await us in this beautiful book. Until I can walk along the
shores of Croatia, I will be content to prepare and share the
dishes of this magical locale.

My grandmother was Croatian and even though I do not have deep
feelings with regard to much of my family this book somehow
strangely brings me closer to her. The cuisine of Dalmatia is
frugal but inventive and that could be said of how my grandmother
cooked. Tomorrow we are having guests over. I hope to make the
cabbage with pasta sheets and the zucchini fritters we are sharing
here today, I will come back later this weekend and update the post
with my photographs if they turn out decently.

Special thanks to Hardie Grant for sharing this recipe that will
be perfect to use up the zucchini flooding our gardens. Be sure to
scroll down and enter our giveaway.

This is one of my favourite dishes in the warmer months. When I
was a child we used to have this for lunch before heading to the
beach. My childhood memories are coloured by the bright blues and
greens of the Croatian summer - the intense turquoise of the
Adriatic Sea and the jewel green of the pine trees and our
vegetable garden. Every time I eat zucchini fritters my mind is
filled with the memory of these colours and the joys of summer.

Grate the zucchini, season it with salt and put it in a colander
set over a shallow plate or bowl. Place a plate on top of the
grated zucchini and then something heavy on top of the plate to
press the water out of the mixture.

Leave the zucchini in the refrigerator for a couple of hours,
then remove and squeeze out any excess liquid with clean hands.

Transfer the zucchini to a mixing bowl. Add the onion, egg,
breadcrumbs and flour and mix well to combine. Season with salt and
pepper to taste.

Shape the mixture into small patties with your hands. They can
be palm-sized - or whatever size you like.

Heat some vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat and
cook the patties until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel
then serve hot.

Excerpted with permission from Dalmatia by Ino
Kuvačić, published by Hardie Grant Books May
2017.

The publisher, Hardie Grant, is
offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US. One of
the entry options is to answer the following question in the
comments section of this blog post.

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest
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midnight on October 3rd, 2017.